It was a performance that would have made Dan Rooney proud.

For the NFL’s first trip to Dublin in the regular season, the Pittsburgh Steelers honored their late chairman and ambassador to Ireland with a throwback performance in a 24-21 victory against the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park.

A suffocating defense — for at least 31⁄2 quarters — and a strong running game were the hallmarks of a victory that improved the Steelers’ record to 3-1 heading into their bye week.

“I know he’s smiling at us today,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “It’s an honor to fulfill his vision to bring NFL football to Dublin.”

The Steelers had six sacks, two interceptions and a turnover on downs in the waning seconds to preserve a victory that lacked drama until midway through the fourth quarter when the Vikings scored 15 points and had the ball late with a chance to tie the score or take the lead.

On offense, the Steelers also rediscovered their running game. Kenneth Gainwell, starting in place of an injured Jaylen Warren, had 99 yards rushing and two touchdowns for the first time in his career.

“To come out and play Steelers football was huge,” said outside linebacker T.J. Watt, who had a sack and interception.

The Steelers entered the game ranked No. 31 in rushing, averaging just 63 yards per game. Behind Gainwell, they doubled that output, finishing with 131 yards.

DK Metcalf added a big play, turning a short Aaron Rodgers pass into an 80-yard touchdown. He had his best game with the Steelers, catching five passes for 126 yards. Rodgers had 200 yards passing and didn’t commit a turnover.

Thousands of fans made the trip overseas to watch the Steelers play their second regular-season game outside the U.S. and the first in a dozen years. The crowd at Croke Park was packed with fans waving Terrible Towels.

“Hats off to the Rooney family for establishing this culture here and having this fan base follow us the way they do,” Watt said. “The fans were absolutely incredible today. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I’m not.”

The Steelers also got a motivational boost from Tomlin, who spoke to his players Saturday night about Dan Rooney’s legacy. It was Rooney who took a chance on Tomlin in 2007, hiring him to replace Bill Cowher as coach.

“He talked about how much Ambassador Rooney loved football, loved the guys and loved his appointment here in Ireland,” Rodgers said. “There were a lot of us that wanted to win it a little bit more for the Rooney family knowing how much affection they have for this area.”

Defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and kicker Chris Boswell are the only holdovers from the Dan Rooney era. He died in April 2017.

“That resonated with a lot of players,” Heyward said of Tomlin’s speech.

The Steelers overcame an early fumble return for a touchdown that was overturned on replay and took a 14-6 lead at halftime. They increased the lead to 18 points in the fourth quarter.

DeShon Elliott, returning from a two-game absence, and Watt had interceptions, and the Steelers took advantage of a short-handed Vikings offensive line by sacking Carson Wentz four times in the second half. Elliott and Watt had sacks on back-to-back plays in the third quarter before Wentz threw a pass that was tipped at the line and intercepted by Watt. This takeaway set up Gainwell’s second touchdown, a 4-yard run.

Minnesota’s next possession ended with Keeanu Benton sacking Wentz on third down for a 10-yard loss. Boswell’s 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter increased the lead to 24-6.

The Steelers also held the Vikings to 70 yards rushing, marking the first time this season an opponent didn’t gain at least 100 on the ground.

“Going forward, this is something we can replicate,” Heyward said, “but it’s got to be done for four quarters.”

Despite entering the game ranked No. 28 in total yards and No. 22 in points allowed, the Steelers held the Vikings to a pair of Will Reichard field goals until midway through the fourth quarter.

The Vikings got back into the game with Wentz’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Zavier Scott and a 2-point conversion toss to Jalen Nailor with 7:50 to play.

The Steelers then had the ball inside the Vikings 10 and went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3. Gainwell was stopped a yard short of the end zone with 4:09 remaining.

“We prefer to die with our boots on and pursue victory and not live in our fears,” Tomlin said.

The decision to bypass the field goal loomed large when Wentz hooked up with Jordan Addison for an 81-yard completion to the Steelers 1. It was a broken play for the Steelers defense that missed corners Jalen Ramsey, Brandin Echols and Darius Slay at various points of the game because of injuries.

“We were leaking bad at that juncture,” Tomlin said.

Wentz’s 2-yard touchdown pass to Nailor on fourth down cut the deficit to three points with 2:08 left.

Facing a fourth-and-1 at the Minnesota 40 with a first down ending the game, Tomlin elected to punt after taking a delay of game penalty. Corliss Waitman’s punt went into the end zone for a touchback.

“We have to finish that game out on offense,” Rodgers said.

James Pierre nearly had an interception on the next play, but the pick was overturned on replay. Two penalties against the Steelers kept the drive alive, and Wentz hit Scott for 9 yards and a first down. Wentz was flagged for intentional grounding with 0:38 left, and, following a delay of game, the Vikings faced a fourth-and-18 with 14 ticks to play.

Elliott broke up Wentz’s deep pass across the middle to enable the Steelers to run out the clock.

“We made it maybe a little more entertaining than it should have been,” Tomlin said.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)